Navigation

EPP head denies interview supporting FYROM name deal

Manfred Weber, the leader of the center-right European People's Party in the European Parliament, has denied that he gave an interview in which he expressed support for the name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

“I fully respect the sensitivity of the Greek people on the name issue with FYROM. There was no interview on this topic,” Weber said in a tweet on his personal account on Thursday, refuting a report on the Euractiv media platform earlier in the day in which he reportedly expressed support for the name deal.

“Everybody knows that [the name dispute] has to be solved in order to give Macedonia a positive economic and European future,” Weber was quoted as saying by Euractiv.

“I respect the stance of @kmitsotakis and I strongly believe that he will lead Greece to stability and prosperity by tackling populism,” Weber added in his tweet, in reference to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the head of Greece's main opposition, New Democracy, an EPP member that opposes the name deal.